Transfer of spectrum grants during inter-SAS CBSD migration

ABSTRACT

In certain embodiments, one or more Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) service devices (CBSDs) may be migrated from their current Spectrum Access System (SAS) to a new SAS, where at least one existing PAL or GAA spectrum grant is transferred from the current SAS to the new SAS without waiting for a timer associated with the existing spectrum grant to expire. CBSDs may be migrated one at a time or multiple CBSDs of a single service provider may be migrated in a single process where the multiple CBSDs are identified by a shared organization ID associated with the service provider. In either case, a migrating CBSD can continue to use its previously existing spectrum grants after migrating to the new SAS without significant delay.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to the wireless communication systemsusing unlicensed shared spectrum and, more specifically but notexclusively, to the 5G wireless communications systems.

Description of the Related Art

This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a betterunderstanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of thissection are to be read in this light and are not to be understood asadmissions about what is prior art or what is not prior art.

In a shared-spectrum Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) network, aSpectrum Access System (SAS) is used to allocate radio resources (i.e.,one or more portions of the wireless CBRS spectrum) to an associatedCBRS service device (CBSD) based on a request from the CBSD, whereallocated spectrum grants are in chunks of 10 MHz up to the maximumsupported by the CBSD and available to be assigned by SAS. According tothe Wireless Innovation Forum (WINNF) “Signaling Protocols andProcedures for CBRS: SAS-CBSD Interface Technical Specification”(Document WINNF-TS-0016, Version V1.2.6, 25 November 2020), theteachings of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety, CBRS networks support three different types of spectrumgrants, in order of highest to lowest priority: Incumbent licenses,Priority Access licenses (PALs), and General Authorized Access (GAA)licenses.

After a SAS allocates a spectrum grant to a CBSD under a GAA license,the CBSD transmits periodic heartbeat messages to the SAS to inform theSAS that the CBSD is still using that spectrum grant, and the SASresponds to each heartbeat message by transmitting a heartbeatacknowledgment message back to the CBSD. The SAS maintains a separateweek-long timer for each GAA spectrum grant allocated to one of itsassociated CBSDs. When the SAS receives a heartbeat message from a CBSDfor a particular GAA spectrum grant, the SAS re-sets the correspondingtimer. If and when the SAS fails to receive a heartbeat message for aparticular GAA spectrum grant for a week, the corresponding timer willexpire and the SAS will de-allocate that spectrum grant from that CBSD.

A CBRS network may have multiple SASs, where each SAS is associated witha different set of one or more CBSDs. According to the WINNF “SignalingProtocols and Procedures for CBRS: SAS-SAS Interface TechnicalSpecification” (Document WINNF-TS-0096, Version V1.3.2, 11 March 2020),the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety, the multiple SASs perform a nightly inter-SAS CPAS(Coordinated Periodic Activity among SASs) procedure, during which eachSAS shares its current set of spectrum grants with each other SAS suchthat each SAS maintains a local database of all of the differentspectrum grants for all of the SASs in order to coordinate its futurespectrum grants to avoid wireless interference between different CBSDsassociated with different SASs.

SUMMARY

For business or other possible reasons, a service provider operating aset of CBSDs may decide to migrate one or more or even all of its CBSDsfrom being associated with a current SAS to being associated with adifferent SAS. In order to migrate a CBSD from its current SAS to adifferent SAS, the SAS Uniform Resource Locator (URL) stored at the CBSDis updated to point the CBSD to the new SAS. If the CBSD had beenoperating on a GAA channel allocated by the old SAS, then the old SASwill keep that GAA spectrum grant allocated for a week after the CBSDhas been migrated to the new SAS until the corresponding week-long timerfor that existing spectrum grant expires, at which time the old SASde-allocates the spectrum grant and makes those radio resourcesavailable in the common spectrum pool via the inter-SAS CPAS procedure.At that time, the new SAS may be able to allocate that same spectrum tothe CBSD that migrated to it a week earlier (assuming that that portionof the CBRS spectrum has not already been allocated to another CBSD byanother SAS). As a result, from the time of migration until thefollowing week, the original CBSD will not be able to use that spectrum.This inability to operate on the same spectrum can cause operationalissues, especially when the CBRS network is designed to operate on thesame frequency with a re-use factor of 1. There is even a possibilitythat the CBSD migration process may take weeks to execute with a lot ofservice degradation or disruption.

Problems in the prior art are addressed in accordance with theprinciples of the present disclosure by providing a technique for a newSAS to request immediate relinquishment of an existing GAA spectrumgrant from an old SAS in the case of inter-SAS CBSD migration so thatthe migrating CBSD does not have to wait a week to be able to use thatsame spectrum grant. Moreover, the procedure ensures that the spectrumgrant is retained by the migrating CBSD instead of being allocated tosome other CBSD.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from thefollowing detailed description, the appended claims, and theaccompanying drawings in which like reference numerals identify similaror identical elements.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example communications network;

FIG. 2 is a simplified hardware block diagram showing a generic nodethat may be used to implement each individual SAS, CBSD, and domainproxy in FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a signal flow diagram that represents the processing involvedin a CBSD registering and requesting allocation of a spectrum grant froma SAS;

FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram that represents the processing involvedin a service provider migrating one of its CBSDs from a current SAS to anew SAS; and

FIG. 5 shows Table I, which identifies the fields that may be includedin the new grant transfer request and response messages of FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 6 is a signal flow diagram that represents the processing involvedin a service provider migrating a number of its CBSDs from a current SASto a new SAS; and

FIG. 7 shows Tables II-VI, which identify the fields that may beincluded in the new messages of FIG. 6 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure aredisclosed herein. However, specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are merely representative for purposes of describingexample embodiments of the present disclosure. The present disclosuremay be embodied in many alternate forms and should not be construed aslimited to only the embodiments set forth herein. Further, theterminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of exampleembodiments of the disclosure.

As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the,” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It further will be understood that the terms “comprises,”“comprising,” “contains,” “containing,” “includes,” and/or “including,”specify the presence of stated features, steps, or components, but donot preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,steps, or components. It also should be noted that in some alternativeimplementations, the functions/acts noted may occur out of the ordernoted in the figures. For example, two figures shown in succession mayin fact be executed substantially concurrently or may sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functions/actsinvolved.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example communications network 100comprising a number of different SASs 102(1)-102(N), each of which isassociated with a number of different CBSDs 104, where CBSDs 104(1 a)and 104(1 b) of a first service provider are associated with a first SAS102(1) and CBSDs 104(2 a)-104(2 c) of a second service provider areassociated with a second SAS 102(2). Those skilled in the art willunderstand that additional CBSDs (not shown in FIG. 1 ) of the same ordifferent service providers may be associated with each of SASs102(1)-102(N), that each SAS may serve the CBSDs of multiple differentservice providers, and that each service provider may have CBSDsassociated with a single SAS or multiple different SASs as long as eachCBSD is associated with only one SAS at a time.

As shown in FIG. 1 , CBSDs 104(1 a) and 104(1 b) communicate directlywith SAS 102(1) and CBSD 104(2 c) communicates directly with SAS 102(2),while CBSDs 104(2 a) and 104(2 b) communicate with SAS 102(2) via domainproxy 106, which aggregates communications from multiple CBSDs 104 tothe SAS 102(2) and disaggregates communications from the SAS 102(2) tothose multiple CBSDs. Those skilled in the art will understand thatadditional CBSDs 104 (not shown in FIG. 1 ) may communicate with SAS102(2) via the domain proxy 106, and that the network 100 may haveadditional domain proxies (not shown in FIG. 1 ) that support SAS-CBSDcommunications between the SASs 102(1)-102(N) and additional CBSDs (notshown in FIG. 1 ).

FIG. 2 is a simplified hardware block diagram showing a generic node 200that may be used to implement each individual SAS 102, CBSD 104, anddomain proxy 106 in FIG. 1 . The generic node 200 comprisescommunication hardware (e.g., at least one wireless and/or wirelinetransceiver (TRX)) 202 that supports communications with other nodes, aprocessor (e.g., a CPU microprocessor) 204 that controls the operationsof the node 200, and a memory 206 (e.g., RAM and/or ROM) that storescode executed by the processor 204 and/or data generated and/or receivedby the node 200. Those skilled in the art will understand how toindividually implement instances of the generic node 200 to provide thespecific functionalities associated with the SASs 102, CBSDs 104, anddomain proxies 106 in FIG. 1 , as appropriate.

FIG. 3 is a signal flow diagram that represents the processing involvedin a CBSD registering and requesting allocation of a spectrum grant froma SAS. For example, the processing of FIG. 3 could apply to the CBSD104(1 b) of FIG. 1 registering and requesting a spectrum grant from theSAS 102(1). Note that this diagram corresponds to a CBSD thatcommunicates directly with a SAS. Those skilled in the art willunderstand how the signal flow would be modified for a CBSD, such asCBSD 104(2 a), that communicates with a SAS, such as SAS 102(2), via adomain proxy, such as domain proxy 106 of FIG. 1 .

The processing of FIG. 3 begins with Step 1 in which the CBSD 104(1 b)sends a registration request to the SAS 102(1). In response, in Step 2,the SAS accesses the FCC Device Certification Database 302 to confirmthe certification status of the CBSD. Assuming that the CBSD is properlyauthenticated in Step 2, in Step 3, the SAS sends a positiveregistration response to the CBSD.

In Step 4, the CBSD 104(1 b) sends a spectrum inquiry request to the SAS102(1) to check for available spectrum. In response, in Step 5, the SASaccesses its local database to determine what portions of the CBRSspectrum are currently available and sends a response to the CBSD withthat information.

In Step 6, the CBSD 104(1 b) analyzes the available CBRS spectrumportions and sends a grant request to the SAS 102(1) for at least someof that available spectrum. In response, in Step 7, the SAS sends agrant response to the CBSD indicating which part(s) of the requestedspectrum portions have been granted and updates its local CPAS databaseaccordingly.

In Step 8, when the CBSD 104(1 b) is ready to use the granted spectrum,the CBSD sends a heartbeat message to the SAS 102(1) indicating that theCBSD is ready to use the granted spectrum. In response, in Step 9, theSAS sends a heartbeat response to the CBSD indicating that the CBSD isauthorized to use the granted spectrum. Although not represented in FIG.3 , the CBSD 104(1 b) begins to use the granted spectrum (for wirelesscommunications with wireless devices (not shown in the figures) withinits geographical coverage area) and periodically transmits additionalheartbeat messages to inform the SAS 102(1) that the CBSD is continuingto use the granted spectrum.

FIG. 4 is a signal flow diagram that represents the processing involvedin a service provider migrating one of its CBSDs from a current SAS to anew SAS. For example, the processing of FIG. 4 could apply to the CBSD104(1 b) of FIG. 1 migrating from being associated with the (current)SAS 102(1) to being associated with the (new) SAS 102(2). Note that thisdiagram corresponds to a CBSD that communicates directly with each SAS.Those skilled in the art will understand how the signal flow would bemodified for a CBSD that communicates with a SAS via a domain proxy.

The assumption in FIG. 4 is that the CBSD 104(1 b) has alreadyregistered with and received one or more spectrum grants from thecurrent SAS 102(1) using the processing of FIG. 3 , at least one ofwhich spectrum grants is a GAA spectrum grant, and that the serviceprovider for the CBSD has decided to migrate the CBSD from beingassociated with the current SAS 102(1) to the new SAS 102(2).Furthermore, it is also assumed that, prior to the processing of FIG. 4, the current SAS and the new SAS have participated in the dailyinter-SAS CPAS procedure such that each SAS has a local CPAS databaseidentifying the current set of spectrum grants throughout the network100 of FIG. 1 .

The processing of FIG. 4 starts in Step 1 with the provisioning server402 of the service provider of the migrating CBSD 104(1 b) sending aninstruction to the CBSD to update its CBSD configuration file to replacethe URL of the current SAS 102(1) with the URL of the new SAS 102(2).

In Step 2, the CBSD 104(1 b) uses the new SAS's URL to send aregistration request to the new SAS 102(2). In response, in Step 3, thenew SAS accesses the FCC Device Certification Database (not shown inFIG. 4 ) to authenticate the CBSD and then sends a positive registrationresponse to the CBSD. Note that the messaging used in Steps 2 and 3 isthe same conventional messaging used in Steps 1 and 3 in the processingof FIG. 3 .

In Step 4, the CBSD 104(1 b) sends a spectrum inquiry request to the newSAS 102(2) to check for available spectrum. In response, in Step 5, thenew SAS accesses its local database to determine what portions of theCBRS spectrum are currently available and sends a response to the CBSDwith that information. Note that the messaging used in Steps 4 and 5 isthe same conventional messaging used in Steps 4 and 5 in the processingof FIG. 3 .

In Step 6, the CBSD 104(1 b) analyzes the available CBRS spectrumportions and sends a grant request to the new SAS 102(2) for at leastsome of that available spectrum. In response, in Step 7, the new SASaccesses its local CPAS database to check whether the CBSD was grantedspectrum by a different SAS and determines that the CBSD was grantedspectrum by the old SAS 102(1). As such, in Step 8, the new SAS 102(2)sends a CBSD record request to the old SAS 102(1) to determine thespectrum granted by the old SAS to the CBSD 104(1 b). In response, inStep 9, the old SAS accesses its local CPAS database to retrieveinformation about the granted spectrum and sends the new SAS a CBSDrecord response with that information. In response, in Step 10, the newSAS determines that the granted spectrum is active and matches thespectrum requested by the CBSD. In Step 11, the new SAS sends a granttransfer request to the old SAS for the requested spectrum, and, inresponse, in Step 12, the old SAS send a positive grant transferresponse to the new SAS and updates its local CPAS database to eliminateits own spectrum grant to the CBSD. In Step 13, the new SAS sends apositive grant response to the CBSD confirming the granted spectrum andupdates its local CPAS database accordingly. Note that the messagingused in Steps 6 and 13 is the same conventional messaging used in Steps6 and 7 in the processing of FIG. 3 , and the messaging used in Steps 8and 9 is also conventional messaging, but that the grant transferrequest and response messaging using in Steps 11 and 12 is new.

In Step 14, when the CBSD 104(1 b) is ready to use the granted spectrum,the CBSD sends a heartbeat message to the new SAS 102(2) indicating thatthe CBSD is ready to use the granted spectrum. In response, in Step 15,the new SAS sends a heartbeat response to the CBSD indicating that theCBSD is authorized to use the granted spectrum. Note that the messagingused in Steps 14 and 15 is the same conventional messaging used in Steps8 and 9 in the processing of FIG. 3 . Although not represented in FIG. 4, the CBSD 104(1 b) begins to use the granted spectrum (for wirelesscommunications with wireless devices (not shown in the figures) withinits geographical coverage area) and periodically transmits additionalheartbeat messages to inform the new SAS that it is continuing to usethat granted spectrum. Note that, at the next daily CPAS procedure, thelocal CPAS databases at the old and new SASs will be appropriatelyconformed to one another.

With the new grant transfer request and response messaging of Steps 11and 12, any GAA spectrum grants by a current SAS can be quicklytransferred to a new SAS so that a migrating CBSD will not have to waita week for the existing GAA spectrum grants to expire at the old SASbefore being able to use that same spectrum at the new SAS. Since PALspectrum grants are also licensed spectrum, in some implementations, thegrant transfer request can include the transfer of both GAA spectrumgrants and PAL spectrum grants.

FIG. 5 shows Table I, which identifies the fields that may be includedin the new grant transfer request and response messages of FIG. 4 . Fora grant transfer request, the requesting CBSD leaves blank any fieldcorresponding to requested information, and the responding SAS includesthe requested information in those fields of the corresponding granttransfer response. All of the fields in Table I are also defined inSection 8.3 of the WINNF-TS-0096 Specification.

The processing of FIG. 4 corresponds to a situation in which a singleCBSD is migrated from its current SAS to a new SAS. The processing ofFIG. 4 can be implemented multiple times to migrate multiple CBSDs fromtheir (one or more) current SASs to (one or more) new SASs. There may besituations in which a service provider decides to transfer all of itsCBSDs, or even just a subset of its CBSDs, from the same current SAS tothe same new SAS.

FIG. 6 is a signal flow diagram that represents the processing involvedin a service provider migrating a number of its CBSDs from a current SASto a new SAS. For example, the processing of FIG. 6 could apply to thefirst service provider of FIG. 1 migrating the CBSDs 104(1 a) and 104(1b) from being associated with the (current) SAS 102(1) to beingassociated with the (new) SAS 102(2). Note that this diagram correspondsto CBSDs that communicate directly with each SAS. Those skilled in theart will understand how the signal flow would be modified for a CBSDthat communicates with a SAS via a domain proxy.

As in FIG. 4 , the assumption in FIG. 6 is that each CBSD 104(1 a)/104(1b) has already registered with and received one or more spectrum grantsfrom the current SAS 102(1) using the processing of FIG. 3 , at leastone of which spectrum grants is a GAA spectrum grant, and that theservice provider for the CBSDs has decided to migrate (at least) thosetwo CBSDs from being associated with the current SAS 102(1) to beingassociated with the new SAS 102(2). Furthermore, it is also assumedthat, prior to the processing of FIG. 6 , the current SAS and the newSAS have participated in the daily inter-SAS CPAS procedure such thateach SAS has a local CPAS database identifying the current set ofspectrum grants throughout the network 100 of FIG. 1 .

Although not represented in FIG. 1 , in the network 100, each SAS hasits own SAS administrator that is responsible for controlling theoperations of the SAS. In FIG. 6 , SAS administrator 604(1) is the SASadministrator for the current SAS 102(1), and SAS administrator 604(2)is the SAS administrator for the new SAS 102(2). As depicted in FIG. 6 ,the SAS administrators 604(1) and 604(2) may be implemented ascomputer-based nodes in the network 100 that are operated by individualsto communicate with the respective SASs 102(1) and 102(2). When a CBSDof a service provider is initially configured in the network, the CBSDis assigned to a particular SAS and to an organization ID associatedwith the service provider, where each service provider has one or moreorganization IDs. The organization IDs enable a service provider togroup its CBSD into one or more subsets of CBSDs, where each subset ofCBSDs is capable of being collectively migrated from their current SASto a new SAS. Each SAS in the network is provisioned with mappings fromorganization IDs to CBSDs for all of the different service providershaving CBSDs in the network no matter with which SAS those CBSDs arecurrently associated.

In the scenario depicted in FIG. 6 for the network 100 of FIG. 1 , thefirst service provider (represented in FIG. 6 by the provisioning server602) has decided to migrate its CBSDs 104(1 a) and 104(1 b), which areassociated with the same organization ID, from the current SAS 102(1) tothe new SAS 102(2). In general, a provisioning server (also known as theelement management system (EMS)) is the network configuration managerfor the CBSDs of a service provider.

The processing of FIG. 6 starts in Step 1 in which the provisioningserver 602 of the first service provider notifies the SAS administrator604(2) of the new SAS 102(2) for the migration from the current SAS102(1) to the new SAS 102(2) of the CBSDs associated with a specifiedorganization ID. In response, in Step 2, the SAS administrator 604(2)configures the new SAS 102(2) to initiate the migration of those CBSDsby provisioning information about the current SAS 102(1) and theorganization ID of the CBSDs to be migrated to the new SAS 102(2).

In Step 3, the new SAS 102(2) sends a migration request to the currentSAS 102(1) identifying the organization ID of the CBSDs to be migratedfrom the current SAS to the new SAS. In response, in Step 4, the currentSAS 102(1) sends a migration request query to the SAS administrator 604to confirm that the migration request from the new SAS 102(2) isacceptable. In response, in Step 5, the SAS administrator 604 sends apositive or negative response to the current SAS 102(1), and, inresponse, in Step 6, the current SAS 102(1) sends a positive or negativeresponse to the new SAS 102(2). In the scenario of FIG. 6 , the SASadministrator 604 approves the migration request in Step 6.

As such, in Step 7, the new SAS 102(2) sends a message to the currentSAS 102(1) to initiate the migration. In response, in Step 8, thecurrent SAS 102(1) transmits information about the migrating CBSDs 104associated with the identified organization ID to the new SAS 102(2).This information includes information about the existing spectrum grantsto each of the migrating CBSDs 104 associated with that organization ID.In Step 9, the new SAS 102(2) organizes the information received fromthe current SAS 102(1) in Step 8 to be able to support the migratingCBSDs 104.

Meanwhile, the current SAS 102(1) continues to support the migratingCBSDs 104(1 a) and 104(1 b). This is represented in FIG. 6 by Step 10,where the migrating CBSDs continue to transmit heartbeat requestmessages to the current SAS 102(1) for each of their spectrum grants andthe current SAS 102(1) acknowledges each heartbeat request message witha heartbeat response message back to the corresponding migrating CBSD.

When the new SAS 102(2) is ready to support the migrating CBSDs 104(1 a)and 104(1 b), in Step 11, the new SAS 102(2) sends a request to thecurrent SAS 102(1) for the current SAS 102(1) to begin to forward allrequest messages received from the migrating CBSDs to the new SAS102(2). At that point, the current SAS 102(1) starts functioning as aproxy between the migrating CBSDs and the new SAS 102(2). This isrepresented in FIG. 6 by Step 12, where (i) each CBSD request messagereceived from a migrating CBSD by the current SAS 102(1) is forwarded bythe current SAS 102(1) to the new SAS 102(2) for processing and (ii)each SAS response received from the new SAS 102(2) by the current SAS102(1) is forwarded by the current SAS 102(1) to the appropriatemigrating CBSD for processing.

In Step 13, the service provider's provisioning server 602 updates theSAS URL provisioned at each of the migrating CBSDs 104(1 a) and 104(1 b)to be the URL of the new SAS 102(2). From then on, each now-migratedCBSD 104(1 a)/104(1 b) uses the new SAS's URL to transmit its CBSDmessages directly to the new SAS 102(2) (represented in FIG. 6 by Step14), and the new SAS 102(2) transmits its SAS responses directly to theappropriate migrated CBSD (represented in FIG. 6 by Step 15).

In Step 16, the new SAS 102(2) sends a migration complete message to theold SAS 102(1) and, in response, in Step 17, the old SAS 102(1)de-allocates its previous spectrum grants to the migrated CBSDs andsends an acknowledgement message back to the new SAS 102(2).

With the processing of FIG. 6 , a service provider can migrate a numberof its CBSDs from their current (shared) SAS to a new (shared) SAS in asingle process. Alternatively, the service provider could perform theprocessing of FIG. 4 multiple times, once for each migrating CBSD. Notethat, at the next daily CPAS procedure, the local CPAS databases at theold and new SASs will be appropriately conformed to one another.

Note that the messaging of Steps 10 and 12-15 is implemented usingconventional messages, while the messaging of Steps 3-8 and 11 is new.In addition, the organizing of the transferred data represented in Step9 and the ability of a SAS to function as a proxy as represented in Step12 are also both new. With the new messaging and new functionality, anypreviously made GAA spectrum grants by an old SAS to a migrating CBSDcan be quickly transferred to a new SAS so that the migrating CBSD willnot have to wait a week for those GAA spectrum grants to expire at theold SAS before being able to use that same spectrum at the new SAS. Asbefore, since PAL spectrum grants are also licensed spectrum, in someimplementations, the transfer of grants can include the transfer of bothGAA spectrum grants and PAL spectrum grants.

FIG. 7 shows Tables II-VI, which identify the fields that may beincluded in the new messages of FIG. 6 . In particular, Table IIidentifies the fields in the migration request messages of Steps 3 and4; Table III identifies the fields in the migration request responsemessages of Steps 5 and 6; Table IV identifies the fields in theinitiate migration messages of Step 7; Table V identifies the fields inthe forward CBSD requests message of Step 11; and Table VI identifiesthe fields in the migration complete messages of Steps 16 and 17, wherethe status is “Complete” in the message of Step 16 and “Acknowledged” inthe message of Step 17. For Step 8, the spectrum grant information maybe sent using the message format of the grant transfer response of TableI in FIG. 5 . All of the fields in Tables II-VI are also defined inSection 8.3 of the WINNF-TS-0096 Specification.

Although the present disclosure has been described in the context of 5GCBRS networks, those skilled in the art will understand that thetechniques of the disclosure can also be implemented in the context ofother networks, including other 5G networks as well as non-5G networks.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure is a spectrum accesssystem (SAS) for a wireless communication network. The SAS comprisestransceiver equipment configured to communicate with at least one otherSAS and at least one wireless service device (SD); a processorconfigured to control operations of the transceiver equipment; andmemory configured to store code and/or data for the processor. Theprocessor is configured to control the SAS to participate in migrationof at least one SD from the SAS to a new SAS, and the SAS is configuredto transfer at least one existing spectrum grant of the at least one SDto the new SAS for the migration without waiting for a timer associatedwith the existing spectrum grant to expire.

In at least some of the above embodiments, the SAS is a spectrum accesssystem for a Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) network; the atleast one SD is a CBRS service device (CBSD); and the at least onespectrum grant comprises at least one Priority Access License (PAL)and/or at least one General Authorized Access (GAA) license.

In at least some of the above embodiments, the new SAS is configured toreceive a request to transfer each existing spectrum grant for a single,specified SD from the current SAS to the new SAS; and the current SAS isconfigured to transfer each existing spectrum grant for the single,specified SD from the current SAS to the new SAS.

In at least some of the above embodiments, the new SAS is configured toreceive a request to transfer each existing spectrum grant for aplurality of specified SDs from the current SAS to the new SAS; and thecurrent SAS is configured to transfer each existing spectrum grant forthe plurality of specified SDs from the current SAS to the new SAS.

In at least some of the above embodiments, the SAS is configured toidentify the plurality of specified SDs using a shared organization ID.

In at least some of the above embodiments, the new SAS is configured toreceive an instruction from the current SAS to function as a proxybetween the at least one SD and the new SAS in which the current SAS isconfigured to forward (i) messages received from the at least one SD tothe new SAS and (ii) messages received from the new SAS to the at leastone SD.

In certain embodiments, the present disclosure is a SAS for a wirelesscommunication network. The SAS comprises transceiver equipmentconfigured to communicate with at least one other SAS and at least onewireless SD; a processor configured to control operations of thetransceiver equipment; and memory configured to store code and/or datafor the processor. The processor is configured to control the SAS toparticipate in migration of at least one SD from a current SAS to theSAS, and the SAS is configured to request transfer of at least oneexisting spectrum grant of the at least one SD from the current SAS forthe migration without waiting for a timer associated with the existingspectrum grant to expire.

In at least some of the above embodiments, the SAS is a spectrum accesssystem for a CBRS network; the at least one SD is a CBSD; and the atleast one spectrum grant comprises at least one PAL and/or at least oneGAA license.

In at least some of the above embodiments, the SAS is configured torequest transfer of each existing spectrum grant for a single, specifiedSD from the current SAS to the SAS; and the SAS is configured to receiveeach existing spectrum grant for the single, specified SD from thecurrent SAS.

In at least some of the above embodiments, the SAS is configured torequest transfer of each existing spectrum grant for a plurality ofspecified SDs from the current SAS to the SAS; and the SAS is configuredto receive each existing spectrum grant for the plurality of specifiedSDs from the current SAS.

In at least some of the above embodiments, the SAS is configured toidentify the plurality of specified SDs using a shared organization ID.

In at least some of the above embodiments, the SAS is configured toinstruct the current SAS to function as a proxy between the at least oneSD and the SAS.

Embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented as (analog, digital, ora hybrid of both analog and digital) circuit-based processes, includingpossible implementation as a single integrated circuit (such as an ASICor an FPGA), a multi-chip module, a single card, or a multi-card circuitpack. As would be apparent to one skilled in the art, various functionsof circuit elements may also be implemented as processing blocks in asoftware program. Such software may be employed in, for example, adigital signal processor, micro-controller, general-purpose computer, orother processor.

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the presentdisclosure may be embodied as an apparatus (including, for example, asystem, a machine, a device, a computer program product, and/or thelike), as a method (including, for example, a business process, acomputer-implemented process, and/or the like), or as any combination ofthe foregoing. Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure maytake the form of an entirely software-based embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, and the like), an entirelyhardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardwareaspects that may generally be referred to herein as a “system.”

Embodiments of the disclosure can be manifest in the form of methods andapparatuses for practicing those methods. Embodiments of the disclosurecan also be manifest in the form of program code embodied in tangiblemedia, such as magnetic recording media, optical recording media, solidstate memory, floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any othernon-transitory machine-readable storage medium, wherein, when theprogram code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as acomputer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing thedisclosure. Embodiments of the disclosure can also be manifest in theform of program code, for example, stored in a non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium including being loaded into and/orexecuted by a machine, wherein, when the program code is loaded into andexecuted by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes anapparatus for practicing the disclosure. When implemented on ageneral-purpose processor, the program code segments combine with theprocessor to provide a unique device that operates analogously tospecific logic circuits.

Any suitable processor-usable/readable or computer-usable/readablestorage medium may be utilized. The storage medium may be (withoutlimitation) an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared,or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device. A more-specific,non-exhaustive list of possible storage media include a magnetic tape, aportable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory(EPROM) or Flash memory, a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM), an optical storage device, and a magnetic storage device. Notethat the storage medium could even be paper or another suitable mediumupon which the program is printed, since the program can beelectronically captured via, for instance, optical scanning of theprinting, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in asuitable manner including but not limited to optical characterrecognition, if necessary, and then stored in a processor or computermemory. In the context of this disclosure, a suitable storage medium maybe any medium that can contain or store a program for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The functions of the various elements shown in the figures, includingany functional blocks labeled as “processors,” may be provided throughthe use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executingsoftware in association with appropriate software. When provided by aprocessor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicatedprocessor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individualprocessors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of theterm “processor” or “controller” should not be construed to referexclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and mayimplicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP)hardware, network processor, application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), read only memory (ROM) forstoring software, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage.Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Theirfunction may be carried out through the operation of program logic,through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control anddedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique beingselectable by the implementer as more specifically understood from thecontext.

It should be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that anyblock diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrativecircuitry embodying the principles of the disclosure. Similarly, it willbe appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transitiondiagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes whichmay be substantially represented in computer readable medium and soexecuted by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer orprocessor is explicitly shown.

It will be further understood that various changes in the details,materials, and arrangements of the parts which have been described andillustrated in order to explain embodiments of this disclosure may bemade by those skilled in the art without departing from embodiments ofthe disclosure encompassed by the following claims.

In this specification including any claims, the term “each” may be usedto refer to one or more specified characteristics of a plurality ofpreviously recited elements or steps. When used with the open-ended term“comprising,” the recitation of the term “each” does not excludeadditional, unrecited elements or steps. Thus, it will be understoodthat an apparatus may have additional, unrecited elements and a methodmay have additional, unrecited steps, where the additional, unrecitedelements or steps do not have the one or more specified characteristics.

The use of figure numbers and/or figure reference labels in the claimsis intended to identify one or more possible embodiments of the claimedsubject matter in order to facilitate the interpretation of the claims.Such use is not to be construed as necessarily limiting the scope ofthose claims to the embodiments shown in the corresponding figures.

It should be understood that the steps of the exemplary methods setforth herein are not necessarily required to be performed in the orderdescribed, and the order of the steps of such methods should beunderstood to be merely exemplary. Likewise, additional steps may beincluded in such methods, and certain steps may be omitted or combined,in methods consistent with various embodiments of the disclosure.

Although the elements in the following method claims, if any, arerecited in a particular sequence with corresponding labeling, unless theclaim recitations otherwise imply a particular sequence for implementingsome or all of those elements, those elements are not necessarilyintended to be limited to being implemented in that particular sequence.

All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entirety or alternatively to provide the disclosure for which theywere specifically relied upon.

Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of thedisclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarilymutually exclusive of other embodiments. The same applies to the term“implementation.”

The embodiments covered by the claims in this application are limited toembodiments that (1) are enabled by this specification and (2)correspond to statutory subject matter. Non-enabled embodiments andembodiments that correspond to non-statutory subject matter areexplicitly disclaimed even if they fall within the scope of the claims.

As used herein and in the claims, the term “provide” with respect to anapparatus or with respect to a system, device, or component encompassesdesigning or fabricating the apparatus, system, device, or component;causing the apparatus, system, device, or component to be designed orfabricated; and/or obtaining the apparatus, system, device, or componentby purchase, lease, rental, or other contractual arrangement.

Unless otherwise specified herein, the use of the ordinal adjectives“first,” “second,” “third,” etc., to refer to an object of a pluralityof like objects merely indicates that different instances of such likeobjects are being referred to, and is not intended to imply that thelike objects so referred-to have to be in a corresponding order orsequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or in any othermanner.

What is claimed is:
 1. A spectrum access system (SAS) for a wirelesscommunication network, the SAS comprising: transceiver equipmentconfigured to communicate with at least one other SAS and at least onewireless service device (SD); a processor configured to controloperations of the transceiver equipment; and memory configured to storecode and/or data for the processor, wherein: the processor is configuredto control the SAS to participate in migration of at least one SD fromthe SAS to a new SAS; and the SAS is configured to transfer at least oneexisting spectrum grant of the at least one SD, wherein: the at leastone existing spectrum grant has an associated de-allocation timer; andthe SAS is configured to transfer the at least one existing spectrumgrant to the new SAS for the migration without waiting for theassociated de-allocation timer associated with the existing spectrumgrant to expire.
 2. The SAS of claim 1, wherein: the SAS is a spectrumaccess system for a Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) network; theat least one SD is a CBRS service device (CBSD); and the at least onespectrum grant comprises at least one Priority Access License (PAL)and/or at least one General Authorized Access (GAA) license.
 3. The SASof claim 1, wherein: the SAS is configured to receive a request totransfer each existing spectrum grant for a single, specified SD fromthe SAS to the new SAS; and the SAS is configured to transfer eachexisting spectrum grant for the single, specified SD to the new SAS. 4.The SAS of claim 1, wherein: the SAS is configured to receive a requestto transfer each existing spectrum grant for a plurality of specifiedSDs from the SAS to the new SAS; and the SAS is configured to transfereach existing spectrum grant for the plurality of specified SDs to thenew SAS.
 5. The SAS of claim 4, wherein the SAS is configured toidentify the plurality of specified SDs using a shared organization ID.6. The SAS of claim 1, wherein the SAS is configured to receive aninstruction from the new SAS to function as a proxy between the at leastone SD and the new SAS in which the SAS is configured to forward (i)messages received from the at least one SD to the new SAS and (ii)messages received from the new SAS to the at least one SD.
 7. A methodfor a SAS for a wireless communication network, the method comprising:the SAS participating in migration of at least one SD from the SAS to anew SAS; and the SAS transferring at least one existing spectrum grantof the at least one SD, wherein: the at least one existing spectrumgrant has an associated de-allocation timer; and the SAS transfers theat least one existing spectrum grant to the new SAS for the migrationwithout waiting for a-the associated de-allocation timer associated withthe existing spectrum grant to expire.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein: the SAS is a spectrum access system for a CBRS network; the atleast one SD is a CBSD; and the at least one spectrum grant comprises atleast one PAL license and/or at least one GAA license.
 9. The method ofclaim 7, wherein: the SAS receives a request to transfer each existingspectrum grant for a single, specified SD from the SAS to the new SAS;and the SAS transfers each existing spectrum grant for the single,specified SD to the new SAS.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein: the SASreceives a request to transfer each existing spectrum grant for aplurality of specified SDs from the SAS to the new SAS; and the SAStransfers each existing spectrum grant for the plurality of specifiedSDs to the new SAS.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the SASidentifies the plurality of specified SDs using a shared organizationID.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein the SAS receives an instructionfrom the new SAS to function as a proxy between the at least one SD andthe new SAS in which the SAS forwards (i) messages received from the atleast one SD to the new SAS and (ii) messages received from the new SASto the at least one SD.
 13. A SAS for a wireless communication network,the SAS comprising: transceiver equipment configured to communicate withat least one other SAS and at least one wireless SD; a processorconfigured to control operations of the transceiver equipment; andmemory configured to store code and/or data for the processor, wherein:the processor is configured to control the SAS to participate inmigration of at least one SD from a current SAS to the SAS; and the SASis configured to request transfer of at least one existing spectrumgrant of the at least one SD, wherein: the at least one existingspectrum grant has an associated de-allocation timer; and the SAS isconfigured to request the transfer of the at least one existing spectrumgrant from the current SAS for the migration without waiting for theassociated de-allocation timer associated with the existing spectrumgrant to expire.
 14. The SAS of claim 13, wherein: the SAS is a spectrumaccess system for a CBRS network; the at least one SD is a CBSD; and theat least one spectrum grant comprises at least one PAL and/or at leastone GAA license.
 15. The SAS of claim 13, wherein: the SAS is configuredto request transfer of each existing spectrum grant for a single,specified SD from the current SAS to the SAS; and the SAS is configuredto receive each existing spectrum grant for the single, specified SDfrom the current SAS.
 16. The SAS of claim 13, wherein: the SAS isconfigured to request transfer of each existing spectrum grant for aplurality of specified SDs from the current SAS to the SAS; and the SASis configured to receive each existing spectrum grant for the pluralityof specified SDs from the current SAS.
 17. The SAS of claim 16, whereinthe SAS is configured to identify the plurality of specified SDs using ashared organization ID.
 18. The SAS of claim 13, wherein the SAS isconfigured to instruct the current SAS to function as a proxy betweenthe at least one SD and the SAS.
 19. A method for a SAS for a wirelesscommunication network, the method comprising: the SAS participating inmigration of at least one SD from a current SAS to the SAS; and the SASreceiving at least one existing spectrum grant of the at least one SD,wherein: the at least one existing spectrum grant has an associatedde-allocation timer; and the SAS requests the transfer of the at leastone existing spectrum grant from the current SAS for the migrationwithout waiting for the associated de-allocation timer associated withthe existing spectrum grant to expire.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein: the SAS is a spectrum access system for a CBRS network; the atleast one SD is a CBSD; and the at least one spectrum grant comprises atleast one PAL license and/or at least one GAA license.
 21. The method ofclaim 19, wherein: the SAS requests transfer of each existing spectrumgrant for a single, specified SD from the current SAS to the SAS; andthe SAS receives each existing spectrum grant for the single, specifiedSD from the current SAS.
 22. The method of claim 19, wherein: the SASrequests transfer of each existing spectrum grant for a plurality ofspecified SDs from the current SAS to the SAS; and the SAS receives eachexisting spectrum grant for the plurality of specified SDs from thecurrent SAS.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the SAS identifies theplurality of specified SDs using a shared organization ID.
 24. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the SAS instructs the current SAS tofunction as a proxy between the at least one SD and the SAS.
 25. The SASof claim 1, wherein the migration is started by a SAS administrator withno direct involvement from the at least one SD.
 26. The method of claim7, wherein the migration is started by a SAS administrator with nodirect involvement from the at least one SD.
 27. The SAS of claim 13,wherein the migration is started by a SAS administrator with no directinvolvement from the at least one SD.
 28. The method of claim 19,wherein the migration is started by a SAS administrator with no directinvolvement from the at least one SD.
 29. The SAS of claim 6, wherein,upon receiving a message from the new SAS that the migration has beencompleted, the SAS is configured to cease functioning as the proxybetween the at least one SD and the new SAS without receiving asubsequent message from the at least one SD.
 30. The method of claim 12,wherein, upon receiving a message from the new SAS that the migrationhas been completed, the SAS ceases functioning as the proxy between theat least one SD and the new SAS without receiving a subsequent messagefrom the at least one SD.